Of course great newspaper companies cannot live by newspapers alone. Of course they need to diversify. But whoops! There goes the Washington Post share price to its lowest point in a year, with Moody's credit rating agency warning of a downgrade – and it's nothing to do with the news business.

Some 62% of Post revenues last year come from the Kaplan private education empire it owns: 600 institutions in 30 countries, 1 million students, 31,000 staff. It's a profitable empire over two dozen major sites in the UK alone. Think Liverpool, Leicester and Bradford, as well as Holborn College.

But in the US, its former students seem a bit slow at repaying their loans – repayment rates are 28% as opposed to 54% of alumni at public colleges – and federal financial aid is in jeopardy. So the share price plummets. And what can a crusading, transparent newspaper do about that?

Many national newspapers have more male readers than female. But that gap is closing fast, and the success of female-friendly websites like Mail Online are beginning to suggest a clear direction for the future